Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Inside Weiyang Palace, Shen Lang and Murong Ke had already reached an agreement on their negotiation strategy.

Seeing the mountains of grain sacks piled up in the granary, and the rich aroma of grains filling the air, Murong Ke felt relieved, but couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

"As expected of the Great Chu, you have so much grain stored up. May I ask, Your Majesty, how much grain is stored in this granary?"

Shen Lang replied, "Not much. This warehouse only holds three million shi of grain, and the twelve warehouses in the capital hold a total of thirty-six million shi of grain."

Upon hearing this number, Murong Ke's eyelids twitched involuntarily.

Thirty-six million shi (a unit of dry measure) was only the grain reserves of the capital city.

So how much grain is left in the local granaries of the entire Chu state?

"Second Prince, can you rest assured now?"

"I'm relieved, but I wonder how we'll transport such a large quantity of grain?"

"Of course, sea transport is faster and can greatly reduce losses. The first batch of 500,000 shi of grain will begin loading tomorrow and will set sail in three days."

If the Second Prince has no objections, shall we begin drafting the official letter now?

"it is good."

Murong Ke agreed without hesitation.

The two returned to the Huibin Hall and immediately began drafting the agreement.

After confirming that the contents were correct, they were sent to the Imperial Academy for rubbing.

Soon, both sides affixed their respective national seals to the agreement.

What was originally planned to take half a month of negotiation was now settled in just half a day. The efficiency is ridiculously high.

After the agreement was signed, Murong Ke was visibly relieved. Only then did he realize that Murong Si had not yet returned, so he immediately sent people to search for him.

Shen Lang stopped them, saying, "No need. The Second Prince's deputy envoy is drinking with Prince Jing in a tavern."

Anyway, now that the negotiations are over, let them go. Tomorrow, Your Majesty will personally host a welcome dinner for you.

"What, drinking? Oh no, this is terrible!"

Upon hearing this, Murong Ke became even more anxious.

Shen Lang looked puzzled: "What's wrong, Second Prince? Is there something troubling you?"

Murong Ke gave a wry smile and replied, "Your Highness, you may not know, but my uncle is a heavy drinker."

Once he starts drinking, he just can't stop. I'm afraid he might do something outrageous when he's drunk, so I'd better bring him back quickly.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang hurriedly ordered, "Someone, go and bring the Prince and the Deputy Envoy back immediately."

Inside the tavern...

"Hahaha, that's awesome, that's so awesome—"

Murong Si drank one can after another, and before he knew it, there were eighteen empty cans on the table.

Jiang Shangxian was completely dumbfounded when he started rapping.

He never thought that this beer, with an alcohol content of less than 10 degrees, was particularly fragrant or mellow; he simply drank it as a beverage.

"Good wine, more please!"

After gulping down the empty can, Murong Si immediately unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his chest and back, clearly indicating that he wasn't planning to leave today.

Jiang Shangxian quickly called out, "Alright, stop drinking. If you keep drinking, how will we get down to business?"

Murong Si, his neck flushed, retorted, "The important thing? Drinking is the important thing!"

As they were talking, the shopkeeper brought over another ice bucket, which immediately contained seven or eight cans of beer.

Without saying a word, Murong Si picked up a jar and tore open the seal.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper hurriedly said, "Gentlemen, drinking like this isn't a good solution. Would you like some snacks to go with your drinks? Although our tavern is small, our snacks are famously good."

Upon hearing this, Murong Si immediately asked, "What kind of snacks are available to accompany the drinks?"

"That depends on whether you prefer vegetarian or meat dishes. For meat dishes, we have garlic lamb trotters, pig ears, braised frozen meat, and freshly cooked..."

Before he could finish speaking, Murong Si interrupted him, saying, "Alright, alright, bring up whatever good food you have. Don't disturb my drinking."

After saying that, he tilted his head back and performed a "tiger devouring mountains and rivers" move, drinking the entire jar of wine without leaving a single drop in the blink of an eye.

The restaurant owner immediately rushed off to the kitchen to get busy.

Murong Si was enjoying his drink, but the guards and subordinates waiting inside the shop were having a terrible headache.

Eating pig's head and drinking barley wine, Murong Si felt that this was how life should be.

What about imperial ambitions and hegemony, what about the fate of the nation?

In the end, what can truly comfort me is this drink.

"I'm leaving now. You all take good care of me."

Seeing that Murong Si wouldn't give up until he was completely drunk, Jiang Shangxian decided not to stay any longer and got up to leave.

Murong Si did not stop him; he was already numbed by alcohol and could not distinguish east from west.

It wasn't until late at night, when the palace guards found Murong Si, that he was singing and dancing loudly in the street with a dog, which was truly an eye-opener for everyone.

……

Inside Shuixuan Residence, Shen Lang finally returned to his palace after a busy day.

After a relaxing bath, they went to the inner room and saw that Jiang Mengxuan was only wearing a light yellow gauze, with no other clothes on.

At this moment, she lay quietly on her side on the bed, her eyes sparkling as she flipped through a book.

Looking at her graceful curves and protruding belly, Shen Lang couldn't help but swallow, and his body, which he had just wiped, began to feel hot again.

Noticing Shen Lang staring at her, Jiang Mengxuan slowly closed her book and turned to look at Shen Lang: "Ah Lang, are you done with your work?"

"Busy working."

Shen Lang sighed and carefully sat down on the edge of the bed.

Jiang Mengxuan grabbed Shen Lang's hand and asked, "Have you reached an agreement with Northern Yan?"

"Yes, an agreement has been reached. They are willing to cede the Gobi Desert in North China in exchange for food."

"In this way, our Great Chu will gain another piece of land beyond the Great Wall?"

"Yes, legally permissible land."

Jiang Mengxuan struggled to sit up, cradling her bulging belly in one hand, and rested her head on Shen Lang's shoulder.

"Ah Lang, you've really had a hard time these past few days. I don't want you to be so tired, but in this vast country, you're the only one I can trust and feel at ease with."

Shen Lang held Jiang Mengxuan's hand, looking at his wife who was so close to him and whom he could never get enough of, and his breathing became a little rapid.

"That's too formal. Get some rest."

"Ah."

Jiang Mengxuan took the opportunity to kiss Shen Lang on the cheek, which aroused Shen Lang's desire.

His pregnant wife possessed an even more alluring charm, making it difficult for him to resist.

So, after laying Jiang Mengxuan down, he tried his best not to think about those things and quietly lay down beside her, trying to fall asleep.

"Ah Lang, are you feeling very unwell?"

Just then, Jiang Mengxuan turned to the side and touched Shen Lang's chest.

"You're so hot, Alang."

"Stop fooling around, it's time to sleep. I just took a shower, my body must be hot."

Shen Lang quickly made up an excuse.

But Jiang Mengxuan smiled mysteriously: "Really? I'll find out when I see."

"Hi~"

Shen Lang felt a surge of blood rush to his head.

Then Jiang Mengxuan's voice came from beside him: "You're already like this, why are you still pretending? Don't move, let me help you."

Before Shen Lang could refuse, Jiang Mengxuan buried her head in the blanket.

"Holy crap, here we go again."

Shen Lang felt a wave of dizziness and gripped the blanket tightly with both hands...

That night, a gentle breeze and light rain fell, while the sun shone brightly.